What do you think about CHIRP?

[slothman]

Admit: this is a repost from the general discussions forum. I'm just looking for lots of opinions and I know some of you hang out only on the individual lake forums.

 

I am really thinking of pulling the trigger on a new Garmin echomap 73sv. I can buy the old model for significantly less than the chirp model. My question to all you electronics gurus: How important is chirp? How much of a difference does it make?

 

I'm really looking forward to using my unit to locate fish and structure. I just got my first boat (used) and am very excited to join a bass club and do some minor local tournament fishing.

 

i know some of you are really knowledgeable about this and I would love to hear from you. I don't take large purchases lightly and could really use some guidance. 

Thanks.

 

Quote this 

 

I am really thinking of pulling the trigger on a new Garmin echomap 73sv. I can buy the old model for significantly less than the chirp model. My question to all you electronics gurus: How important is chirp? How much of a difference does it make?

 

I'm really looking forward to using my unit to locate fish and structure. I just got my first boat (used) and am very excited to join a bass club and do some minor local tournament fishing.

 

i know some of you are really knowledgeable about this and I would love to hear from you. I don't take large purchases lightly and could really use some guidance. 

Thanks.

[Sore Thumbs]

I've been told by someone that talked to Lowrance rep. That the Chirp is more of a sales pitch than a vast improvement over regular sonar. Any decent graph you buy now a days regardless of brand will give you more than ample Sonar.  After you purchase your unit go to YouTube and look up Sonar settings. There are tons of videos out there to help you get started in the right direction. Buy what you are comfortable with that lies within your budget. Good luck

[fishinwrench]

No technological breakthroughs have happened as far as the way sonar pulses bounce around.  The only change is in how the reciever interprets the return signal and displays it on the screen.   You want side imaging from an old-school LCR?...cock your transducer 45° and hold your head sideways.

WaaLah! 

[Bill Babler]

From looking at Lowrance Gen 2 for years and now the Gen 3 with Chirp what you can tell more than anything is the composition of what you are seeing, and here we are talking about sonar and not structure scan. If the fish are up off the bottom or away from structure, I don't think you can tell much difference than looking at your Gen 2 or any of the upper end sonar units as far as identifying targets  If the fish are tight to the bottom or to structure you can determine the difference between fish and the bottom or structure thru the color palate much better as hard targets and soft are interpreted to a much higher degree with Chirp.

Also on the Gen 2 and other units there is a bit of a dead space, between the bottom and perhaps several inches of water.  The units will read the hardness of the bottoms and give you a slight knowledge of something there, but not really.  Chirp can see that space and define a soft target. 

Here we all call it worming, we most often see it with Kentucky bass or White bass.  At times with the older units and I published this several years ago, the White bass laying on the bottom looked like a continuing red line.  When you drop the spoon into the line the fish would raise and separate in the water column.  We call this worming, as they would follow the caught fish sometimes to the surface and then return to the bottom, most often streaking and looking like worming or snake lines on your screen.

With the Chirp units depending on your color palate, that red line would look like individual targets with separation, even with them lying pretty tight to the bottom and in a very close school.  You can see they are fish instead of just long object lying on the bottom.  Most of us that stare at the units for hours knew what the line was, but the Chirp defines it way better.

It also will define soft targets inside of structure.  Say you are looking straight down into the top of a tree.  Through most of the upperend units you can see some separation between the tree and fish that are suspended near or above the tree, but they will look like just parts of the tree or suspended pieces.  Again we can identify by hours of screen time what is going on.  The Chirp will define it further as soft targets even inside the limbs of the tree to help you determine that there may be some goodies down there that are not part of the tree.

It is pretty cool and if you are at a show have the Lowrance rep show you the difference.  it is like anything it is more money and more detail, if you need it or really use it.  If your a bank fisherman and don't really use your sonar to its highest possibilities might not be your deal.  IT works here on this deep pond.

That's pretty much all I know at this point.

[Sore Thumbs]

Little better explanation and answer than I gave. Ha. Good info as usual. Thanks Bill

[Dutch]

I have Chirp on my new units.  I can not use it with structure scan because of interference so I rarely run it because I use ss and 2 d sonar together 90% of the time.

[Bill Babler]

I understand Dutch.  Here is the deal, Structure Scan is a finding tool and Chirp is a fishing tool.  I have fished the Rock so much, that I very rarely turn on SS.  I have it coming again in a super package of electronics on my new PHX,  But I fish with sonar, as do most of the older fools guiding and fishing down here.  That for sure does not make it right or do I encourage anyone else to follow my lead, but that's the way I do it.

I don't think Beck even got SS on his new electronic package.  When I sold my last boat it was still in the box.

[Sore Thumbs]

The new units have  side scan built in. Eliminating the use for LSS units. That explains why they are so cheap now. 

[Terrierman]

I am far from a sonar expert but really like my Lowrance that is a chirp unit.  Lots of detail.

[rps]

Bill,

I have been here only 15 years, but I have been using electronics since the metal green box stage. I am still learning the upper end, Houseman to Emerald Beach. Side scan saves me 10 to 20 years or 100,000 to 200,000 casts.

However, once I know the layout, the sonar becomes the tool you describe.